With rate increases hard to come by, some carriers may have hoped to raise income through renegotiating accessorials – but customers are still unwilling to chip in for the little extras, according to a recent trucking industry survey. On the brighter side, detention-time deals are on the upswing.
Forty-two percent of carriers indicated they do not expect to be able to renegotiate accessorials, including practical miles and quicker payment schedules, reports Transport Capital Partners in the firm’s fourth-quarter take on business expectations. That percentage is down slightly from the past two quarters.
Other specifics:
— Over the last two years the number of carriers able to raise fuel surcharges has dropped from 30 percent to 11 percent. Pessimism about assessorials is greater among smaller carriers than the larger carriers (50 percent vs. 38 percent).
— Carriers are more positive when it comes to detention times, as 43 percent now expect to renegotiate. While renegotiating detention times does not necessarily raise cash, it can make equipment more productive, TCP notes.
— Approximately 30 percent of larger carriers think they will be able to renegotiate miles paid (i.e., move from shortest route to practical route). This change – were it to materialize – would have a significant impact on revenues, even with stagnant rates.
Despite the lack of rate increases and static assessorials, slightly more than half of carriers (54 percent) indicated they are getting an adequate rate of return – the highest level yet for this survey, TCP adds.
